The Travel Advisory

Marriott Guarantee Startles Web-Savvy For those consultants who pride themselves on scoring low hotel rates via the Web, Marriott International has issued a challenge few Web-savvy travelers can ignore.

| January 13, 2009

The Frugal Traveler

Marriott Guarantee Startles Web-Savvy

For those consultants who pride themselves on scoring low hotel rates via the Web, Marriott International has issued a challenge few Web-savvy travelers can ignore.
According to a new Marriott policy, anyone who finds a lower publicly available Marriott rate within 24 hours of booking a reservation — same hotel, same room type, same dates — will receive a matching rate directly from the hotel, plus an additional 25 percent off.
The guarantee, in a way, is a sporting challenge for consultants who have routinely circumvented their own firm's corporate travel departments by garnering lower rates across the Web.
"It's usually as a result of airlines or hotels not posting all of the fares on the agents' computers," explains Bill Beckemeyer, chief financial officer for Kurt Salmon Associates of Atlanta.
Those KSAers who prefer to book their own flights or hotels must follow two basic guidelines: Use the lowest rates available and buy refundable reservations or tickets to avoid hefty change fees on the nonrefundable ones, says Beckemeyer. KSA consultants are not required to take connecting flights to save money. "They are on the road enough as it is," Beckemeyer says.
"However, we do ask consultants to use and share the points received from the corporate credit card for internal and non-bill travel."


How to Sleep Your Way to the Top

Perhaps it's no surprise that road warriors often start their trips sleep-deprived. Study participants slept an average of five hours the night before the trip, the lowest of the seven-day monitoring period. Their best night of sleep? The first night at the hotel.
As part of the research, participants wore wrist actigraphs that measured daytime activity levels and sleep quality and quantity. In addition, they carried special PDAs that measured performance and served as a log for capturing details about their productivity, moods, and other daily rituals.

• The majority of travelers are already tuned into exercise, with two-thirds of those responding to the survey claiming to use it as a strategy to boost their alertness, energy, and performance while on a trip.

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